A Drink They Call Loneliness
by Kate811
Summary: Lucky and Kate bond over their sucky lives. One shot!


**Author's Note**: I know this pairing is kind of… out there … and will probably never happen…but give it a chance before you decide to hate it! Borrowed a line from Billy Joel's Piano Man for the title of this. OK, read and review please! And enjoy! Hopefully, anyway.

**Spoilers**: I don't really read them, but I imagine Lucky is going to find out about Nik and Liz sometime soon. Also, this is GV's Lucky, not JJ. I think Megan Ward and Greg Vaughan just look prettier together, that's all.

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**A Drink They Call Loneliness by Kate**

Lucky Spencer wandered into the dark, dingy bar, the name he didn't even bother learning. He figured if he didn't know the name of the bar, then no one else would think to look there for him. He didn't want … no, he didn't _need_ anybody looking for him that night. He craved loneliness. Loneliness suited him just fine.

He glanced around his hazy environment and sighed. This place would serve its purpose for the night. A saxophone player was the bar's source of music and its sad wails gave the bar a blues-like feeling. Through the smoky air he could make out dim, red lights scattered sporadically around, and the scarce amount of patrons were randomly scattered at tables throughout the bar.

Lucky squinted through the stale, cigarette smoke-riddled air and gave a sigh of relief. The actual bar itself was unoccupied, meaning he would get to sit in silence, throw back a few drinks to hopefully dull his pain, and wallow in his sorrows, all without having to engage in drunken small talk.

He sat down at the bar and nodded to the bartender. Quickly and efficiently his order was placed in front of him: whiskey. He needed a drink that would numb him and fast, and whiskey seemed to be the best course of action for just that. He took a long swig and winced as the amber liquid slid down his throat, burning every inch along the way.

"You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders." A soft voice interrupted his slow descent into inebriation and he looked up.

"Miss Howard?" Lucky squinted through the smoke and dimness and his eyes widened at the sight. Kate Howard was not exactly known for drinking in shady bars. In fact, she was known for being the complete epitome of class and grace. And classy and graceful people didn't dwell in bars with cheap booze and a sad saxophone.

"Oh, Lucky, call me Kate, please." She corrected him and took a sip of her drink. Whiskey, Lucky noticed. He didn't take her for a whiskey type of person. He took her for an expensive martini or glass of champagne type of person.

He did the gentlemanly thing and got up and sat next to her. Even though he didn't know if she wanted company, even though he knew he didn't want company.

She gave him a small smile for the gesture. "As I was saying, you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

"Yeah, well you don't look like you're far behind me." He gestured to her half empty glass. "How does a classy lady like you even know about this place?"

"I drove past here my first time in Port Charles. I had gotten lost and it was pouring rain out and I barely even gave this place a second thought."

"Until tonight?" Lucky asked out of interest.

"Until tonight." Kate answered.

"Oh," he nodded, "Why not Jake's though? That's the place to be in Port Charles."

"Exactly. That_ is_ the place to be, which is precisely why I did not go there. I'd have no privacy…" She paused and then added, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't mind you talking to me, but there's just so many people that go to Jake's and---"

"Kate, it's fine." He chuckled at her nervous rambling. "I came here for the very same reason."

"Oh." She blushed.

"What I don't get though, is why a woman like you, a woman who has everything, is drinking her troubles away in a dirty bar." Lucky mused.

"Lucky, I have far from everything." She avoided his question. "What about you? Why are you drinking your troubles away in a dirty bar?"

"I asked you first." He downed his drink.

She mirrored his actions. "Yeah, well I don't have to tell you anything. In fact, I came here so I wouldn't be forced to talk to anyone! So I won't tell you."

"You don't have to tell me. I just thought talking about it might help." He motioned to the bartender to refill their drinks.

At the sweet tone in his voice, Kate softened. "If I tell you, you can't judge me. You can't laugh, you can't make fun of me, you can't even so much as blink in a weird way or I'm going to the other side of the bar and this conversation is over. And if I tell you why I am here you have to tell me why you're here. Promise?"

"Promise." The bartender slid over their drinks and they clinked glasses in a show of agreement.

She took a deep breath and said, "I made out with Coleman, you?"

True to his word, Lucky kept his promise, "Elizabeth and Nikolas slept with each other."

Since Lucky was nice enough to not react to her confession, she did the same. Her eyes may have widened a tad and she quickly reached for her drink so her mouth would be occupied with sipping rather than exploding in a fit of shock, but other than that, she did not react.

When she was done her drink, she spoke. "Floor's all yours."

Lucky smiled. "I think I'd much rather hear about you and Coleman."

"Oh really, no Lucky. My problem seems trivial now. It's not even a problem. Yours is a problem. Mine's just a … a … stupid…thing. Really, you talk. You should talk."

"Just…just distract me for a little bit please. I don't want to think about Eliz—I don't want to talk about them right now, okay?"

"Okay," Kate sighed. "Well, I got drunk at Spinelli and Maxie's non-wedding reception. Coleman was there. He noticed me. We flirted, and I don't know … one thing led to another and the next thing I know I'm waking up the next morning with a horrible hangover and this vision of me kissing Coleman in the middle of Jake's that will forever be seared into my memory. And Coleman was my first kiss in a really, really, embarrassingly long time. So who even knows when I'll get kissed again? And will it only go down from there? Is Coleman the beginning of my end? Or here's a horrifying thought: what if Coleman is the last man I ever kiss?! Not that Coleman's not a, um, a lovely man, because I'm sure in his own way he is but…"

"But you're Kate Howard, and you deserve better." Lucky finished her sentence for her.

Kate blushed. "That's not what I was going to say, but thank you."

"You're welcome."

"But now I'm just wondering how I even got to this point in my life: making out with slightly creepy bartenders. I mean, that's not me. I do deserve better. I mean, I'm a catch!"

The two shared a laugh and Kate continued, "I mean, seriously, I'm successful, fairly young, I have a job that doesn't involve killing or hiring someone to kill people, I'm attractive...I guess I just don't see how all this has led to me making out with strange men in bars."

"Sonny really did a number on you, didn't he?" Lucky guessed and knew he was right when he saw her eyes fill with tears.

"It's not that I even miss him anymore, because I don't. I really don't. I'm the one who ended things with him, and for good reason. I got shot twice as a result of him. I mean, true the first time it was Michael who shot me but who'd he learn that behavior from?! When I broke up with him, I thought he'd realize he was losing me and he'd quit the mob and the violence. Instead he married Claudia. He claimed it was a marriage of convenience, but he got her pregnant, for Christ's sakes! That hardly seems like just a marriage of convenience to me. And now it seems like he's interested in Olivia. So I guess he meant more to me than I did to him. When we got together, I had this dream of the two of us being together forever. Like it was this big romantic thing: me and my first love, riding off into the sunset together, living happily ever after. Stupid, right?"

She noticed the sad look in his eyes, "Oh God, I'm talking too much aren't I?"

"No, it's not that. It's just … that thing you said about you and your first love and happily ever after and all…that's how I thought it'd be for me and Elizabeth."

"I'm sorry, Lucky."

"It's not your fault; you didn't sleep with my brother. Not that it'd matter if you slept with my brother because you're not my fiancé … well, ex fiancé now." He finished his drink at that thought.

Kate motioned for the bartender. "Well, still, I'm sorry that that happened to you, if you want to talk about it…"

Lucky shook his head. "I think I'd rather not talk about it tonight. I'll deal with it tomorrow. Tonight, I'd like to drink some whiskey and spend time with a woman who can do much better than Coleman and Sonny."

She laughed, "Very well then."

And at the sight of her laughing, Lucky was able to forget for a few brief moments. Forget that his life was currently in shambles and that the supposed love of his life was now shacking up with his brother. All that seemed far off in that very moment.

So he did something he never thought he'd do. "Do you want to dance?"

She smiled. "Sure."

She placed her hand in his and he led her out to the dance floor. And just as they were about to begin swaying in rhythm to the music, the bartender turned on the lights and the music came to a halt. It was closing time.

They both glanced up at the bright lights as Lucky still held her in his arms.

"I guess they want us to get out of here." Kate smiled sheepishly.

"I guess so." Lucky chuckled.

"My driver's outside waiting for me, if you want a ride?" She offered.

He shook his head. "That's okay; I think I'll walk around for a little bit."

Kate nodded and without words he walked her outside to her car.

"Well, this was surprisingly a nice evening." Kate said.

Lucky laughed. "It really was. I had a good time, considering the circumstances."

She nodded. "Me, too."

"Hey, listen … maybe we can do this again sometime, you know, when we're both not completely and utterly..." He searched for the word.

"Broken?" Kate supplied.

"Yeah, broken." He nodded.

"I'd like that."She smiled.

And something about the smile on her face made Lucky act on a whim. Gently, he reached out and took her face in his hands. Slowly, he pulled her close until his lips were upon hers.

Shocked, Kate was frozen for a few moments before she responded. She placed her arms around his waist, but before long couldn't help herself and moved her hands up to his muscularly defined chest, and finally nestled her fingers into his thick hair.

The two stood like that for minutes, assaulting one another's mouths in delightful and delicious ways until Lucky pulled apart.

"What…was that for?" Kate asked breathlessly.

Lucky smiled at her, and in part smiled at himself for being able to smile in such a difficult time in his life. "Just in case, I didn't want Coleman to be your last kiss ever."

He took advantage of the shocked expression on her face by stealing one more brief, but heated kiss.

"Goodnight, Kate." He turned and made his way down the dark street but allowed himself one more glance back at her.

She was still standing frozen in place, one hand touched to her lips. When she finally found her voice she called back, "Goodnight, Lucky!"

And that night, as they lay in their beds dwelling over the events that had led them up to that moment, they both knew one thing for sure:

They may have been completely and utterly broken, but there was hope for them yet.

**The End!**

**Hope you all liked it! Again, I know it's a couple that will probably never happen but they're kind of a nice thought, aren't they? Now press that big button labeled "Review!" and …well, review! :)**


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